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Is this a childcare story? Chapter : 04
Mielra, who had somehow ended up leaving the house with the boy, suddenly thought to herself.
‘But do people from the capital all speak this well from such a young age? It can’t just be because he’s a noble… he even said himself that he isn’t from a particularly high-ranking family.’
Mielra, who didn’t know many words and often stumbled whenever a slightly difficult topic came up, found it extremely fascinating.
‘Now that I think about it… how old is this kid anyway? Six? Or maybe seven? What’s his name?’
Once the question came to her mind, her curiosity only grew. Eventually, Mielra cautiously spoke up.
“Um, this might be rude to ask, but how old are you?”
At her question, Istin suddenly stopped walking and stood still. He stared down at Mielra.
“Come to think of it, we haven’t even properly introduced ourselves yet.”
“Huh? What’s an introduction?”
The boy used a lot of unfamiliar words. On the other hand, the girl didn’t know much at all.
That difference made them curious about each other.
Normally, he would have scolded her for not knowing something so basic, but Istin patiently explained the meaning of each word one by one.
“It means telling each other our names. It’s about sharing who you are with the other person.”
“I… I see!”
Mielra’s face brightened as if she had finally understood. It was like sunlight pouring into a shadowed room.
Seeing that, Istin couldn’t help but smirk.
“Alright then, let’s introduce ourselves. I’ll go first. I am…”
Istin almost blurted out his real name and age without thinking, but he stopped himself.
‘Wait, what should I say?’
Because of his father’s orders, he had to hide his name and family, so he couldn’t speak the truth.
But he also didn’t want to make up a complete lie. If it were someone he would never meet again, that would be fine—but he found himself wanting to continue knowing this girl.
“I’m Titi.”
After some thought, Istin slowly spoke.
“Titi? Wow, that’s such a cute name! It sounds like a cat or a puppy’s name!”
“……”
Istin’s face turned slightly red at Mielra’s reaction, which was exactly as expected.
In truth, Titi was his childhood name and nickname. However, he hated being called by it so much that he had once firmly declared, “Damn it, no one is to call me Titi!” Because of that, no one in the ducal mansion ever said it anymore.
‘But that’s strange. Why doesn’t it feel bad?’
Istin’s lips twitched slightly. Unlike the unpleasant feeling he got when his nanny called him “Young Master Titi” or when his father said “Titi,” this time his chest felt strangely ticklish.
Even if the girl kept teasing him by saying it sounded like a puppy’s name, he didn’t think it would bother him much.
“And my age is… um, seven.”
In truth, he was twelve. However, due to a curse passed down through his family line, his growth had been slowed.
But to those who didn’t know his circumstances, Istin simply looked about six or seven years old.
‘Even if I said I was twelve, no one would believe me anyway… not unless I explain the curse.’
No matter how much he liked this girl, he couldn’t reveal everything so carelessly. Especially anything related to his weakness.
Besides, in Istin’s case, his lie would likely sound more believable than the truth.
“I knew it! I thought you were about seven!”
Without understanding Istin’s complicated thoughts, Mielra smiled brightly. In reality, Istin hated being treated like a little kid more than anything.
And even now, he hadn’t expected to introduce himself that way.
“Alright. That’s it for me. Now I’d like to hear about you.”
Mielra, not noticing the slight stiffness in Istin’s tone, nodded.
“Oh, okay! My name is Mielra. I’m ten years old. I’m three years older than you, Titi, so you can call me big sister!”
“Big… sister?”
Istin blinked blankly, his green eyes wide. It was an unfamiliar word to him.
After all, Istin was the only son of the Valoir ducal family—he had never once had someone he could call “big sister”!
“Yes! Oh, but if ‘big sister’ feels weird, you can call me ‘miss’ instead!”
“‘Miss’ is even more formal, so I dislike it more.”
Istin narrowed his eyes. Mielra, watching him, shrugged.
“Honestly, I don’t really mind what you call me. So call me whatever feels comfortable for you!”
“Then can I just call you Mielra?”
He had only said it as a joke, expecting her to refuse immediately.
But contrary to his expectations, Mielra nodded without hesitation.
“Of course, Titi!”
“……!”
“Hey, I was actually curious about you for a long time, so I’m really happy to know. Hehe.”
Mielra laughed lightly. Seeing her innocent smile, Istin’s eyes widened slightly. Feeling awkward, he looked away.
Mielra, huh.
It was a pretty name. It fit nicely on the tongue, like the name of a small pet squirrel. Ah—but he definitely wasn’t being petty just because she said his nickname sounded like a cat or dog name.
“We’re here.”
“Wow, it’s huge! This is really where you live?”
Mielra’s eyes widened as she saw the rumored villa right in front of them.
“In a way, yes. It’s only a temporary residence, though.”
“What does ‘residence’ mean?”
“It means the same as living somewhere.”
“Ohh, I see! Thanks for explaining!”
As they talked and walked, they soon arrived at the villa beyond the hill. The tall walls surrounding the building stood like an iron fortress.
However, unlike its usual quiet atmosphere, there was a commotion in front of the villa.
The butler who should have been inside was outside, and the guards were in a panic.
“Find the young master immediately!”
“Oh no, don’t tell me he went into the village!”
Istin immediately realized that his unauthorized outing had thrown the household into chaos.
“Huh? The young master is over there?!”
The next moment, one of the guards scanning the area spotted Istin walking over and widened his eyes.
At his shout, Istin froze.
‘This is bad… I told Mielra I wasn’t anything important!’
This was a difficult situation. If things continued like this, his identity would be exposed immediately.
He wanted to pretend he didn’t hear it, but the clueless guard was already approaching him with a relieved expression.
He almost wished Mielra hadn’t heard it—but unfortunately, she had very sharp hearing.
“Huh? Young master? Who are they talking about? Me?”
No, not you…
Istin sighed deeply, feeling both relieved and exhausted by Mielra’s absurd confusion.
‘Seriously, what am I going to do with her?’
In the end, Istin shook his head and stepped forward.
“Oh my goodness, young mas—!”
The guard, Aishel, rushed forward with his arms wide open, face bright with relief. Just moments ago, he had been imagining punishment from the duke for failing to protect the young master.
But Istin raised his hand casually, his expression blank.
“I’m afraid I don’t know who you’re calling ‘young master,’ Sir Aishel.”
A question mark appeared on Aishel’s face.
“E-Excuse me?!”
“I am Titi, the young master’s attendant. And as for the young master, he is currently lying in bed inside the villa over there, isn’t he?”
Istin shamelessly shrugged, creating a completely fictional “real young master” and acting as his attendant. Aishel blinked in confusion at this unfamiliar side of him.
“T-Titi? What are you talking about…? And an attendant?”
The burly guard, despite his muscular build, tilted his head with wide eyes. Istin felt a vein almost pop in his head.
No, at this point, shouldn’t he have understood already? What an idiot!
‘Sigh… looks like there’s already enough idiots beside me.’
Istin shot him a disappointed look and continued explaining.
“Honestly, Sir Aishel, your brain is as dull as your muscles are big. I am Titi, the young master’s attendant. And I was just returning from the village after running an errand for the young master. Understood?”
“Ah…! I understand now! I fully understand what you mean, sir attendant!”
